Friday, April 11, 2008

The whole damned world is going complete apeshit crazy because Barack Obama spat on a few sacred cows during a fund-raiser in San Francisco.

I'm sure you've seen it 1,982 times already, but just in case you're new to this pitiful excuse for controversy, here's what Barry said:

You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them...

And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not.

And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

Oh. Fuck. The world is about to end. People are pissed.

Who's going crazy? Let's take a look...

The Dummies of Faith will be in a tizzy. How dare Obama claim that religious fervor tends to increase in times of stress and difficulty! Where does he get off saying something that every social scientist to graduate from every school other than ol' Stephens College (Taylor Marsh's alma mater) has said before? Sweet baby Jesus wearing a miniskirt while drinking Schlitz, who does Barack Obama think he is saying something that makes such complete fucking sense that no one with functioning synapses would dare deny it?

Oh, he pissed off the gun-nuts, too. They're suspending their Charlton Hesston mourning to yap about the way Barry O. just insulted their honor! Who is the Hussein Obama man and why would he argue that insecurity intensifies the desire to maintain gun ownership! Where does this charlatan get off claiming that gun owners are suspicious of a government that fucks them over lubelessly on a regular schedule? Barack Obama, don't even think of believing that unemployment increases crime rates, which inspires gun ownership.

Those who feel uneasy around people whose skin is darker than a standard Mead manilla envelope are angry, too. Barack Obama actually has the gall to say that unemployed blue-collar workers without college degrees might have a tendency to blame immigrants for their woes. That's crazy talk! Who could possibly imagine that poor white guys who've lived in Levittown since Day One and are scrapping for something to replace a lost union job might be a wee bit resentful of the brown dudes with whom they're now competing for lower-paying gigs? That's just ridiculous.

Obama was an idiot for thinking that some people are anti-trade. It's not like the entire Democratic party has been telling them that the 3-M plant and the Dial soap factory shut down because of NAFTA or anything. Why on God's green earth would Obama think that people become reflexively anti-trade after hearing alleged authorities blame the nation's ills on bad trade deals? Silly stuff, huh?

Barack just pissed off the whole USA by saying something that's basically true. It might not be convenient and it certainly doesn't meet our usual standards of ass-kissing vote-pandering, but it certainly isn't untrue.

Was it insulting? I suppose a wildly religious person who hated Mexicans, despised NAFTA and believed in black helicopters for reasons unrelated to economic decline might be a bit upset. Otherwise, I don't really see the insult.

Apparently, though, a lot of people seem to think those statements are Obama's way of pissing from the jet on the heads of those who populate flyover country.

John Brown knows flyover country. I'm in Kansas. And let me tell you a secret. That shit Obama is saying about small-towners and their weirdness? It's true. Shhhhh.... I don't want my neighbor to bash my head in with his die-cast NASCAR stock car replicas tonight, but it's true.

It's not true about everyone and it isn't always that simple. It is, however, pretty damn accurate. Which is probably why it's going to hurt some feelings and cause some backlash amongst the dumb-asses who refuse to recognize their craziness and who, frankly, are accidentally dragging the country down with every stupid step they take.

For those with reading comprehension problems (and I know you're out there), please not the following:

Barry O. didn't say that every gun owner was a nutjob motivated by irrational fear or a person who perceives oppression based on hideous economic conditions who is looking to assert some sort of control over his/her life in the midst of chaos via strident pro-gun thinking. Those folks are out there, but I don't see Obama claiming that every firearm owner is a psycho.

Obama didn't say that everyone who prays to the little baby Jesus is merely taking a hit from a hookah filled with the opiate of the poor. He's just noting the reality that certain kinds of religious intolerance tend to be ratcheted up when people have to eat hot dogs and ramen noodles while discussing the collection letters they just grabbed from the mailbox night after night. He's not saying that my great aunt the nun was a byproduct of poverty or that she joined the convent because she feared for her long-term economic well-being.

Obama isn't saying that every poor white person goes bigot. He is merely recognizing that xenophobia, bigotry and discriminatory acts tend to increase when the economy is in the shitter. That's not ground-breaking and it isn't insulting.

None of this matters, though. The world is pissed off. He didn't just touch the third rail, he did so while wearing a suit made of copper wiring.

The people who smell a little bit of the ugly truth cooking in their own kitchens will get disproportionately defensive. Those who are more interested in winning votes than being honest will mock outrage. The least bright among us will believe the nonsense the TV talking heads chant as they try to make this into Something Big. It's predictable. It's pathetic. That's why we're probably doomed in the long run.

We live in a world populated by so many idiots and assholes that something true will become something ugly. Somehow, this will become proof of a Racist Obama. It will be evidence of a Godless Obama. It will be offered as an indicator that Obama spends too much time at Starbucks being effete. And some people will believe it.

And you wonder why we have such a hard time getting anything done around here.

Sometimes, the problem with Barack Obama is that he overestimates the intelligence of his secondary audience. I think he knows how cynically cruel some can be and recognizes that things will be spun ugly. He just thinks we, as a nation, will see through it. He occasionally says something so easily misinterpreted because he assumes that people will listen and interpret rationally. He really believes that enough people out there can connect the dots appropriately.

I'd like to think he's right. At moments like this, though, I have my doubts.

19 comments:

"I saw in the media it's being reported that my opponent said that the people of Pennsylvania who faced hard times are bitter. Well, that's not my experience.

"As I travel around Pennsylvania, I meet people who are resilient, who are optimistic, who are positive, who are rolling up their sleeves. They are working hard everyday for a better future, for themselves and their children.

"Pennsylvanians don't need a president who looks down on them, they need a president who stands up for them, who fights for them, who works hard for your futures, your jobs, your families."

And not to be left out, the McCaincampaign huffs:

It "shows an elitism and condescension towards hardworking Americans that is nothing short of breathtaking."

The McCain flak is right -- a politician uttering an unflattering truth instead of puckering up and applying his lips to the electorates' ass (as Hillary and Gramps just demonstrated) IS kind of breathtaking.

As a small-town Pennsylvanian, I have to agree with everything you've said. Especially the sad parts about the people the comment was "about" being very likely to misinterpret it or buy into the misinterpretations handed to them by media interests. Obama has too much hope for his own good :(

Yes, I too agree that what Barack said is mostly true, but it seems to me that eveyone actually wants that lier, Clinton to win, and this will just be an excuse to condemm him once again. they are grasping at straws in order to cut him down, and they are counting on the ignorance of the people to make this happen. the talking heads, love anything to stir up controversy, that could result in higher ratings. This all goes back to the general ignorance of people's simple minds.

It will eventually go down like the Wright fake scandal. It´s funny because I thought McCain was smart enough to not step in that shit...but now I see it was only because he had REAL pastor problems. Because he couldn´t resist what appeared to be low hanging fruit. It wouldn´t surprise me if someone leaked that speech for Barry´s own good.I´m mean does ¨the monster¨ think that people are that stupid...And with the fake Wright outrage I think they actually believed that this would give them the traction they needed. There are no more bigots to go to their side. There are thousands of Ohioans that feel dooped by her by NAFTA and the emerging CAFTA linkage w/ Bill. Some poor sap in Allegheny Co will read the entire transcript and literally say, ¨does this bitch think we´re stupid?¨ Then they will look at 109 mil they raked in and then see that she can´t even keep collections callers away from her campaign and they will be done.The sad part is it´s clear that excerpt that they take makes no sense and clearly leaves a read looking for context to see who the hell e´s talking about. And not only that the context is before and after the quote in question. Watching CNN was sad...

It was Rollins, a Hillary endorser and some MSM check collector and as they discussed they all the look on their faces like they were cheating at cards and only they knew...they seemed almost surprised that it was that easy...she asked them, on a scale of 1 to 10, how bad was this for Obama...Rollins of course said 10...and Hillary´s man said 11.

America knows a talking point gangbang when they see one. It won´t survive...and they´ll only come off looking like effete idiots.

I do also know that there are about 11 to 12% that are still sitting on the fence. And I think most of them were Hillary voters...half of that 24% gap she used to have in PA. They left her for a reason...whether it be for Tuzla or NAFTA, which the MSM has forcefully ignored her lies on continuously. That being the case those people aren´t likely to be fooled again.Again i´ll reiterate that this had to have been leaked from the Obama camp. Monster supporters would never release it on a Friday...unless I´m wrong and they are that desperate to get ANYTHING out as soon as possible. If anything it was a republican operative..considering the speedy calls for dem congressional denouncement. Any ideas? Or am I just totally over-analyzing this?

Funny, I was thinking it would go down like the Reagan "scandal" -- Obama's candidacy was going to end because he discussed the effectiveness of the Reagan coalition coherently, rather than paying lip service to the trope that All Things Reagan Must Be Universally Denounced.

I guess everyone's forgotten about that by now, though, so y'all's mileage may vary, of course.

yup you're doomed because us real democrats are gonna bury barry the fraud either now or in the fall. the man is loathsome. a fake, a racist, a crank, a brat and worst of a all: just plain out of his depth

and his wife, the viper, is worse. we will not tolerate this liar and criminal in the white house. infact, if he steals the nom. we are going to help mccain destroy him. this is how loathsome he is to real democrats.

I'm not talking about Barry's candidacy being doomed. I'm talking about all of being doomed to wade in a cesspool of bullshit because intellectual dishonesty is devalued in favor of exploitative vote-gathering through nonsense.

"We live in a world populated by so many idiots and assholes that something true will become something ugly. Somehow, this will become proof of a Racist Obama. It will be evidence of a Godless Obama. It will be offered as an indicator that Obama spends too much time at Starbucks being effete. And some people will believe it.

And you wonder why we have such a hard time getting anything done around here."

Fuckin' exactly, John. You were much more gracious in this post than I was in mine, John. I saw this, this afternoon, and I went apeshit aghast at the utter fuckin' stupidity and denial of the fuckin' electorate and the Clinton and McCain campaigns (I have to say this is a big mark against Mr. McCain for me, now; he's just too predictably full of bullshit, at this point. If Obama would just say, "We're not pulling out of Iraq and everyone who promises you we are is a fuckin' liar," I think I'd feel better. Maybe I can vote for him even if he doesn't say that. Though I still like McCain's policies on health care better, as well as not having to listen to the tripe on trade and Iraq.

This is why there is so much fuckin' lying and bullshit in this process. All the fuckin' bullying meant to make up for what fuckin' dumbasses we all are. It's fuckin' insane and dysfunctional and just fuckin' unbelievable sometimes.

This is one of those times.

Something tells me this is the last gasp of a fucked up process that is going to inch forward, little by little, fighting it all the way, because it's more difficult for us to be honest with ourselves and one another than it is to be flattered and pandered to.

It's fuckin' ridiculous, is what is is. And people like your buddy John: South of Melrose are responsible for all this shit. And they and their candidates never take responsibility for it. And then they lecture the goddamn country about responsibility. It's a fuckin' joke is what it is.

I think we can do better. I have to say that this whole situation is one big check in Obama's column for me. Right the fuck on for telling the politically incorrect truth to the dumbasses who don't like to hear it.

You know, I feel like so far Obama's comments have gotten far less traction than either the Wright issue or the Reagan "gaffe." On CNN three out of three pundits absolutely eviscerated the Clinton and McCain campaigns over their reaction. That's pretty telling to me.

1. since the opposition can't find anything factual regarding the economy, the war, to say against president(ial candidate .. i like the sound of that) obama, they have to grasp any straws that they can and distort what he or anyone (see the reverend) says. 2. sadly when i heard what mccain said, i was eating and almost choked. mccain, whose wife's family is one of the owners of a major brewery, calling senator obama an elitist?? you're kidding mccain, right? (can i sue mccain for damages for my throat?) 3. hillary is showing that she doesn't know fact from fiction more and more every day.point being, you've got to be kidding me. pleae tell me that this is a joke. is the opposition so afraid that they have to resort to the usual tactics of lying and distorting facts? i finally just turned the tv off, this is how absurd i find all the fuss that is being made because someone finally dares to speak the truth.